Moratorium On Power Shut-Offs Ends Tuesday

By Bret Jaspers
Published: Monday, October 14, 2019 - 3:27pm
Updated: Monday, October 14, 2019 - 3:30pm

The state-imposed moratorium on electricity shut-offs ends Tuesday. 

People who could not afford their electric bills over the hot summer will now have to begin repaying those bills — although not all at once.

Arizona Public Service will split customers’ unpaid balances over the next four months. 

Diane Brown of Arizona PIRG Education Fund said they’re seeing people owe anywhere from a couple hundred to a couple thousand dollars.

“Most of the situations we are aware of has households in arrears for $1,000 or more,” she said.

Brown said anyone who needs help with a bill should call his or her electric company. The group Wildfire is also connecting people to financial assistance.

The moratorium applied to customers of utilities regulated by the Arizona Corporation Commission, including Arizona Public Service and Tucson Electric Power. SRP is not regulated by the Commission and not covered by the power shut-off moratorium.

The moratorium came in the wake of news that a Sun City woman died of heat-related causes in 2018 a few days after APS turned off her electricity. 

In a filing last week, APS said it has 88,074 delinquent accounts, owing $30.6 million.